Weapons convictions soaring

Published on Tuesday 16 March 2010 09:04

THE number of people convicted of carrying knives and offensive weapons has soared to a ten-year high in the Lothians, new figures have revealed.

Latest figures show a total of 431 convictions were secured in a 12-month period – a 21 per cent jump on the previous year.

Police today said the increase was largely down to stricter law enforcement, with more patrols targeting knife carriers. But just one in four offenders found guilty of possession of a knife or offensive weapon in the Lothians last year was jailed for the offence.

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Only 108 received a custodial sentence while the rest were given community service, a fine, or admonished.

The ten-year high for Lothian and Borders was branded "terrifying" by critics, who called for tougher sentences to be introduced for carrying weapons.

Legislation passed by the Scottish Parliament in 2006 doubled the maximum jail sentence for carrying knives to four years. The Scottish Government said it remained committed to tackling the problem with "tougher action than ever before".

Officers in the Capital have conducted a string of operations aimed at reducing knife crime, including searches on buses and outside nightclubs using metal detectors.

Among the offensive weapons seized by officers in 2008-9 were baseball bats, stun guns, syringes, bottles, belts and a sock containing snooker balls.

Gavin Brown, Lothians Tory MSP, said the figures "paint a terrifying picture of just how much a blight knife crime is across the Lothians".

Meanwhile Labour's justice spokesman Richard Baker said it was time the government "woke up to the grave toll knife crime is taking".

"The SNP refuse to do anything about knife crime and yet we find that 71 per cent of knife criminals currently do not receive a custodial sentence and of those that do, two thirds would avoid jail entirely under the SNP's plans to scrap six month sentences."

Justice secretary Kenny MacAskill hit back at criticism over the Scottish Government's response to knife crime, describing it as "absolute nonsense". He pointed out that the overall number of charges for carrying an offensive weapon was actually falling in the Lothians. The figures cannot be directly compared, however, as one person could be charged with several offences.

Mr MacAskill said: "More convictions dealt out to those who carry a knife show that we are taking tougher action than ever before, with police officers acting swiftly to arrest those who carry a knife and our courts convicting them. This tough approach should be a warning to anyone considering carrying an offensive weapon."

A police spokesman said tackling violent crime was a "priority" and the rise in convictions was "testament to the proactive approach taken by the force".

"Intelligence-led searches of individuals, coupled with targeted initiatives as part of the ongoing Safer Scotland campaign, are all part of our commitment to getting dangerous weapons, including knives, off our streets."